AboutRobert Expertise General questions about tourism/travel and life in Japan, including shopping, visa issues, culture-shock, finding accommodations and employment, proper cultural etiquette, and common problems ex-pats in Japan experience. Bachelors Degree in Japanese Culture and Masters Degree in Marketing.
Expert: Robert Date: 1/27/2008 Subject: can you help me with my holiday?
Question Me and my partner are going on holiday in japan from 20/05/2008 to aprox the first week of june 2008. I would like to know is there anything we should worry about going at this time of year? earthquakes?
Also if we can only see a couple of places where would you recommend?? Considering we are only there a few days?
Hope you can help!
Thanks
Answer Hi,
Earthquakes happen all the time in Japan (in fact, tremors around Tokyo are a near daily occurrence) but rarely cause a lot of destruction. More likely you might be concerned with the weather, since in June the rainy season starts, and every day for several weeks there is a lot of rain. Late May sounds OK, generally, but sometimes by then the weather is already getting pretty sticky and muggy, so be sure to bring some light
cotton clothes that can dry out quickly.
I think you will have around 2 weeks in Japan, which is a pretty good length to see a lot of the country.
I suggest you get a Japan Rail Pass for
1 or 2 weeks, which allows you to travel anywhere in
the country for an unlimited amount on virtually all
JR trains.
You must get the pass before you go to Japan though.
See http://www.jtbusa.com/enhome/jrpass.asp and http://www.japanrailpass.net/
for complete info.
If you choose not to do this, you can find rail fares
at http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi
You can also find a Tokyo subway map at http://soli.inav.net/~ceicher/images/TokyoSubways.jpg
and other major city subway maps at http://www.reed.edu/~reyn/transport.html
Tokyo has a subway day pass for around
1000 yen too.
And if you get hopelessly lost, which is very easy in
Japan, it is better to find some older school or college
age students and *write out* your questions in simple
words. Japanese are still very poor at speaking English
but are often glad to help you out if you lose your way.
Carrying a business card or matchbook with your hotel's
address on it can be a big help.
If you still have problems communicating, you can always call the Travel-Phone, a toll-free nationwide English-language helpline set up by the JNTO at tel.
0888-22-4800, available daily from 9am to 5pm (in Tokyo, call the TIC at tel. 03-3201-3331; in Kyoto, tel. 075-371-5649).
Kyoto and Nara are definite must-sees. Also
Hiroshima, Himeji Castle (the best surviving
castle in the country, in Hyogo-prefecture),
Mt. Fuji, Kamakura, Nikko, and Nagasaki, are very nice.
Try and go to at least one hot spring (called onsen)
while you're there. They are all over the country.
See http://dmoz.org/Regional/Asia/Japan/Travel_and_Tourism/Hot_Springs
for more info and guides. They range from free
to very high at hot spring resort hotels.
As for going from Tokyo Narita Airport, you can take
a bus or train, I urge you to take the train, since a
bus in traffic jams might take twice as long. I think
the Keisei is best--it will take you stright to Ueno Stn.
You can get complete info at http://www.narita-airport.jp/en/
Do not under any circumstances take a taxi from Narita
since it will easily cost you 20,000 yen!
For what to see in Tokyo depends on what you like.
A good photo collection at http://www.artisandevelopers.com/web/tokyo/
can give you many good ideas.
Regarding money, Japan is still very much a cash based
society - credit cards are taken in larger stores and
hotels, but not much in small shops and restaurants.
But you can go to any Japanese post office and get yen
from a Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Diners Club
credit card, or ATM card in the Plus or Cirrus networks
(look on the back of the card), or debit cards in the
Visa Electron or Maestro Networks.
For food, you didn't give any preferences, but you will
find most anything. See http://www.bento.com/ for a good
listing of restaurants, as well as maybe looking in some
ex-pat magazines like Tokyo Journal there.
Jet lag may be a problem, depending on you, the flight time
and arrival, whether you can sleep on the plane, etc. For
me, I leave L.A. in the afternoon, arrive the next day in
the evening, crawl into bed and wake the next day feeling
fine. Everyone is a bit different though. But Tokyo is a
24 hour city that never sleeps.
The exchange rate is around 110 yen to the US
dollar at the moment, which makes things
cheaper for you compared to a few years ago.
You will find many if not nearly all things there
to be very expensive, but you do not need to sell
your soul to find a good buy here and there. A good
website to look at is
Price Check Tokyo at http://www.pricechecktokyo.com
You can also see what Japanese money looks like at http://www.thejapanfaq.com/japanfaq1c.html
Note that you can not use
1 or 5 yen coins in vending machines and phones.
